The Falcon & The Winter Soldier offers a glimpse at the world after Thanos' snap, and mankind has adjusted to blipping and un-blipping remarkably well. In Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos succeeded in erasing half of the universe's life forms from existence, but that genocide was undone in Avengers: Endgame, when the disappeared souls came back, albeit displaced 5 years out of time. Fans' first look at the world restored came in Spider-Man: Far From Home, which showed humanity still adjusting to the consequences of such a cosmic tragedy. Those presumed deceased had become refugees after losing their homes, students were returning to school after their friends had already graduated and the world was on tenterhooks fearing another major threat - something Mysterio took full advantage of.
The MCU's upcoming The Falcon & The Winter Soldier TV series on Disney+ advances the franchise's timeline further, and with Black Widow set in the past, Eternals going interstellar and WandaVision looking erratic, Bucky and Sam's story is perhaps the best look Marvel fans will get at how Earth is coping with the aftermath of Thanos in the present timeline. Recent footage aired during the 2020 Super Bowl included a number of highlights, including Falcon throwing Cap's shield and Bucky choosing not to kill Baron Zemo. One key shot, however, gives a neat contrast between the pre and post Endgame landscapes.
The trailer gives a brief glimpse of John Walker, the man who has apparently been assigned the "new Captain America." Known in the comics as U.S. Agent, Walker is being rolled out for a sports event alongside Captain America-themed dancers and patriotic fireworks but, crucially, the stadium is buzzing and filled with a roaring crowd of eager spectators. This directly contrasts with the Super Bowl trailer for Avengers: Endgame released this time last year, which used the image of an empty New York Mets stadium to drive home the devastation of Thanos' snap.
The implication back then was that, in light of the tragedy, sports and pastimes had fallen by the wayside. Losing 50% of all athletes would certainly put a dampener on the season. Just as the Avengers: Endgame trailer used sports stadium imagery to highlight a sense of tragedy and loss on Earth, it's surely no coincidence that the clip for The Falcon & The Winter Soldier 12 months later is using the same microcosm of human society to demonstrate the opposite. The heaving, excited stadium radiates life and signals recovery, showing how the world has moved on since the snap. It could even be suggested that the population had made more progress in terms of getting back to normal since the period of Spider-Man: Far From Home, where the return of the missing 50% still felt fresh.
Although packing out sports stadiums is an encouraging sign of Earth getting back to normal, there's a more sinister undercurrent to the scene when looking closer. John Walker masquerading as Captain America is jarring, especially since the audience knows Steve chose Sam Wilson as his successor. Furthermore, the presence of dancers and showmanship harks back to when Steve was touring the frontlines in World War II, putting on a show for the troops but not having any measurable impact on the fight. Revisiting this dark time suggests that, even though Earth is in recovery, the principles of those who saved it might have been betrayed.
The Falcon & The Winter Soldier is expected to premiere this Fall on Disney+